Comparative advantage has provided the intellectual basis for most trade policy in the past 50 years. This book collects OECD work that builds on recent contributions to the theory and empirics of comparative advantage, emphasising the role of policy in shaping trade.&lt

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At a time when aid budgets are under pressure and scrutiny, there is a need to improve accountability. This is especially true in the case of aid for trade, which has become an increasingly important priority in development co-operation. Strengthening Accountability in Aid for Trade looks at what the trade and development community needs to know about aid-for-trade results, what past evaluations of programmes and projects reveal about trade outcomes and impacts, and how the trade and development community could improve the performance of aid for trade interventions.

The effects of globalisation have been at the forefront of public debate in recent years, fuelled on the one hand by the large benefits of integrated markets, and on the other hand, by the detrimental adjustment effects often experienced by many economies as a result. Knowing how trade has been evolving over time and the role policy has played in this evolution are critical to understanding the globalisation debate and grasping the lessons for future policy development. The comparative advantage hypothesis has been suggested as one of the principal explanations of international trade and of the benefits associated with openness. It has also provided the intellectual underpinnings for most trade policy in the past 50 years. This book collects OECD work that builds on recent contributions to the theory and empirics of comparative advantage, putting particular emphasis on the role policy can play in shaping trade.

On the 50th anniversary of the OECD, we examine the unique work the organisation performs in regulating and rationalising governments’ use of export credits in support of exports, jobs, economic growth and national interests more broadly. This work is part of a global post war effort to emphasise multilateral co operation and sound economic policies to promote co operation, efficiency and prosperity rather than destructive competition, controversy and conflict.

OECD export credits work is one of the basic building blocks of the ever growing structure of global trade agreements that aim to maintain open and efficient markets. The objective is to eliminate subsidies and unfair practices in the economic competition that forms the foundation of a healthy and dynamic global economy. The elimination of official financing subsidies in global trade is only a part of the broader trade policy agenda, but it is a vital part, and has been delegated to the OECD by the WTO. Since financing is the life blood of trade flows, specialised OECD housed work allows trade to flow efficiently for aircraft and other capital goods while other trade policy work and litigation continue at the WTO.

The export credits work at the OECD is described in this collection of essays. However it is about much more than the series of agreements described herein. It is more fundamentally about the governments and their people - policy makers and experts - who gather at the OECD to build collectively a system of export credits disciplines that is fair, transparent, adaptable and effective. It is therefore as much about people and ideas as anything else. The export credit secretariat pictured above represents only the latest in a long line of OECD staff committed to facilitate and advise this work.

The OECD’s motto on its 50th anniversary is “Better Policies for Better Lives.” This reminds us that in the end, it is policies that are at the centre of human well being. And export credits work is about promoting these better policies by developing “smart rules” that open markets and maintain a level playing field and by bringing people and governments together to this end.

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Over the last two decades, Israel has opened its economy to international trade and investment by lowering tariffs and improving the domestic regulatory environment for business. This review describes progress on regulatory reform in Israel, which suggests these overall trends will continue.

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As part of the OECD accession process, Chile, Estonia, Israel and Slovenia participated in Reviews of Market Openness with the OECD Trade Committee. These country reviews examine to what extent domestic regulations directly or indirectly distort or facilitate international competition.

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This review highlights Chile’s well developed regulatory framework for trade, including recent regulatory reforms considered here in light of market openness principles. It shows that transparency is well supported in Chile’s regulatory system.